Nels Cline
From Free net encyclopedia
Nels Cline (born in Los Angeles in 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He began to play guitar at age 12 when his twin brother, Alex Cline took up the drums; they have recorded and performed together many times.
Cline is known for his improvisational work and for the diversity of his musical projects. He has played with jazz musicians Charlie Haden, Gregg Bendian, Wadada Leo Smith, Tim Berne, Vinny Golia and the late bassist Eric Von Essen, a longtime musical companion in the L.A. jazz group Quartet Music. Cline has also performed and recorded with punk rock hero Mike Watt in his touring bands The Crew of the Flying Saucer and The Black Gang, as well as with members of Sonic Youth and country music legend Willie Nelson, and in the jazz/punk/improv band Banyan with Watt and ex-Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins. Cline's current outfit is the improv/free jazz ensemble The Nels Cline Singers, with which he has recorded two albums, Instumentals and The Giant Pin, his most recent work as a leader. The Nels Cline Singers are currently signed with Cryptogramophone Records.
Cline has performed on over 100 albums in the jazz, pop, rock and experimental music genres. He continues to expand his audience as a member of the Grammy-winning rock band Wilco, which he joined in early 2004.
Selected discography
- Angelica (1988)
- Lady Speed Stick (1991)
- Silencer (1992)
- Pants (1994)
- Ground (1995)
- Chest (1996)
- Sad (1998)
- Interstellar Space Revisited: The Music of John Coltrane (1999) (w. Gregg Bendian)
- The Inkling (2000)
- Destroy All Nels Cline (2001)
- Instrumentals (2002)
- The Giant Pin (2004)
As noted before, Nels Cline has participated in numerous projects and other bands. The albums listed above are a selection of the releases from Nels' personal projects, trios, and bands. For a complete and comprehensive list of Nels' recordings, see Nels Cline Discography.